NYCGigs.com & the John Lennon Songwriting Contest Present:

The Village Underground Club To Host Local Musical Artists in Monthly Showcases

New York --- Beginning September 7, 2007, there will be monthly showcases at The Village Underground, the famed music venue in New York City's Greenwich Village in the basement where the legendary Gerdes' Folk City once thrived and introduced iconic music personalities.

The Village Underground bar/nightclub continues to be a hub of a strong and competitive music scene. From Ike Turner to Patti Smith, John Mayer to Buckwheat Zydeco and Me'Shell N'Degeocello, The Village Underground has been considered the room for quality music in New York. Routinely booking acts that usually play rooms 2 or 3 times the size, the Underground gave the discerning music lover a chance to see some of the world's greatest performers in an utterly intimate setting. The sound and lighting at the Underground outdoes most venues twice as large. The Underground breathes new life to the New York City music scene in the face of the many other music venues that have had to close.

NYC Gigs is a unique collective of area booking agents, led by Ira Berman, who booked The Village Underground in its most recent incarnation. The venue is primed to present the best musical talent possible for the resurgence of music in this historic area.

The John Lennon Songwriting Contest is an internationally renowned songwriting contest that began in 1997. The Contest accepts entries year-round and is open to amateur and professional songwriters who submit entries in any of 12 categories: Rock, Country, Jazz, Pop, World, Rhythm & Blues, Hip Hop, Gospel/Inspirational, Latin, Electronic, Folk, and/or Children's. Entries are judged exclusively on originality, melody, composition, and lyrics (when applicable). Instrumental compositions are also encouraged. The Lennon Contest is made possible by an agreement with Yoko Ono Lennon

There will be prize raffles and giveaways including iPods, Godin Guitars and Maxell gift bags courtesy of those Lennon Contest partners.

New York, NY - October 23, 2007 - Think you are the best unsigned band in New York? Waiting for your big break? CW11/WPIX, Tribune Broadcasting's New York's CW affiliate and Pepsi want to give you the chance to get your band out of the garage and into the spotlight with the CW11& Pepsi 2007 Battle of the Bands Contest in conjunction with the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus. A local music competition, the CW11 & Pepsi Battle of the Bands Contest will showcase the best unsigned bands in the Tri-State area.

Beginning Monday, October 29th, unsigned bands from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut can upload their band information and original song on CW11's website: www.cw11.com/battleofthebands.

An in-house jury will cull the submissions down to 11 semi-finalists. On Monday, November 7th the polls open and viewers have the opportunity to vote for their favorite band on cw11.com through November 20th.

On Wednesday November 21st, the band with the most votes will be named the winner of the CW11& Pepsi Battle of the Bands Contest on "The CW11 Morning News." On Friday, November 23rd the winning band will play live on "The CW11 Morning News."

In addition to a live performance on "The CW11 Morning News," the CW11 & Pepsi Battle of the Bands Contest winner will receive a professional recording session on board the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus, a non-profit mobile audio and video recording studio as well as an automatic entry in the John Lennon Songwriting Contest, an annual international contest open to amateur and professional songwriters. The John Lennon Educational Tour Bus travels across the U.S. and Canada year round, providing free tours and hands-on workshops at schools, conferences, festivals and concert tours, encouraging students to play music, write songs, engineer recording sessions and produce music video projects using the latest technology and traditional instruments. The winning band will also have the opportunity to perform at one of the upcoming showcases given by NYCgigs.com and the John Lennon Songwriting Contest at Live Underground.

The winning band will also receive a prize package of equipment valued at $5,000. The package includes: a Godin Guitar, Ableton Live 6 music program, duplication of the band's CD in the form of 1000 CDs and jackets from Discmakers, a Roland Micro Cube amplifier, Apple iPod Shuffles, Apple Logic Pro 8, 10 Sets of Elixir Guitar Strings, a PropellerHead Reason music program, a Sibelius 4 music notation program, a Purevolume.com Pro Account, a Maxell Prize Pack of CDs, DVDs with iPod accessories and a copy of "Come Together The Official JLETB Guide to Music and Video."

CW11 & Pepsi Battle of the Bands Contest timeline:

• Monday 10/29 -Sunday 11/4 -- Submission period
• Monday 11/5 -Tuesday 11/6 -- In-house jury culls submissions to top 11
• Wednesday 11/7 -Tuesday 11/20 -- Public voting period
• Wednesday 11/21 - Winner announced on "CW11 Morning News"
• Friday 11/23 -- Winning band performs live on "CW11 Morning News"

The New York area has thousands of bands seeking the spotlight; the CW11, Pepsi and the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus are working in tandem to discover the next local music sensation. Log on to www.cw11.com for complete contest details.

ABOUT THE CW11/WPIX

New York's CW11 (WPIX-TV Channel 11), is the flagship station of The CW Television Network. Founded in 1948 and owned by Tribune Broadcasting, a division of the Tribune Company, WPIX has long been regarded as a groundbreaking station in New York. In September 2006, WPIX became The CW11, and its successful Network programming, award winning news, extensive library of hit movies, first-run programs, off-network sitcom favorites, quality children's programming and public affairs shows, as well as outstanding event coverage, have contributed to the station's success. The CW11 has earned over 160 Emmy Awards, including multiple Emmy Awards for Outstanding Morning News Program and Outstanding Newscast. The station has been honored with numerous other awards for excellence in reporting, news coverage, public affairs, specials and features. In addition, The CW11 has been the official broadcast home of the New York Mets since 1999.

ABOUT THE PEPSI-COLA COMPANY

Pepsi-Cola North America, headquartered in Purchase, N.Y., is the refreshment beverage unit of PepsiCo Beverages and Foods North America, a division of PepsiCo, Inc. PepsiCo Beverages and Foods North America also comprises PepsiCo's Tropicana, Gatorade and Quaker Foods businesses in the United States and Canada. Pepsi-Cola North America's carbonated soft drinks, including: Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Pepsi Twist, Mountain Dew, Mountain Dew Code Red, Sierra Mist, and Mug Root Beer account for nearly one-third of total soft drink sales in the United States. Pepsi-Cola North America's non-carbonated beverage portfolio includes Aquafina, which is the number one brand of bottled water in the United States, Dole single-serve juices and SoBe, which offers a wide range of drinks with herbal ingredients. The company also makes and markets North America's best-selling, ready-to-drink iced teas and coffees via joint ventures with Lipton and Starbucks, respectively.

ABOUT THE JOHN LENNON EDUCATIONAL TOUR BUS (www.lennonbus.org)

The John Lennon Educational Tour Bus is a non-profit state-of-the-art mobile recording and multimedia studio that provides music and video education programs for young people. In its 10th year of touring, the endeavor is an offshoot of the John Lennon Songwriting Contest, which is dedicated to providing opportunities for both professional and amateur songwriters around the world. The Bus travels across America year-round, providing visitors with free, hands-on experiences using the latest audio and video technology, gear and products. The Bus, a 501(c)(3) venture, is made possible through the generosity of sponsors including Maxell Corporation, Apple, NAMM, Roland, Godin Guitars, Sibelius, Ableton, Elixir Strings, Edirol by Roland, Full Sail, Virb.com, Audio-Technica, Disc Makers, Sonicbids, Ultrasone, Propellerhead, Digidesign, Antares, Bogen Imaging, Spectrasonics, Music Player Network, Neutrik, Aphex Systems, Glyph Technologies, Musiciansfriend.com, Stanton, IK Multimedia, McDSP, SKB, Native Instruments, and Gretsch Drums. The John Lennon Songwriting Contest and Educational Tour Bus are made possible by an agreement with Yoko Ono Lennon.